TimeSplitters: Episode Two
by BladeHawk
Summary: Following the events of TimeSplitters 2, Earth's government set up a top-secret military operation assigned with the recovery of the Time Crystals for use against the scourge of the TimeSplitters.
1. Chapter 1

**CHAPTER ONE**

The plastic target dummy gave a sudden violent lurch as a seven-millimeter bullet punctured near the bull's-eye mark on its chest. Around one hundred yards downrange, Major Steven O'Niel stood up from his crouched firing position and examined his handiwork with a satisfied grin. "Three more points." He said to the woman in the adjacent firing box, "Let's see if you can best that, Aili."

Aili Jordan gave a slightly amused smile and rolled her brown eyes at Steven's out-of-character attitude. Ever since Steven and his friend, Jamie Banes, had taken her back with them to their space station _Serenity_ from the Wild West era a few weeks ago, Aili had had her skills tested to the limit as part of the evaluation course Steven's superiors had assigned to her. If she was going to have any hope of joining Steven's frontline team, she would have to prove herself worthy of the position. It was challenging, Aili had to admit, but that didn't put a damper on her ability to have fun.

"Seriously, Steven, your persistence surprises even me." Aili responded, carefully sighting down the scope of a standard-issue BT-12 Sniper Rifle.

"Same here." Jamie commented from her lounge chair seat behind the two shooters, "This is the tenth time you've challenged her to his shooting contest this week. How long are you planning to keep this losing streak up?"

Steven glanced back at his friend, the hardened soldier features on his face set in a determined mood, "Until I win, Jamie, until I win."

Jamie laughed, her long blonde hair catching the light, "Well, that'll be a long time coming. Precision was never really your thing."

As if to add a punctuation mark to Jamie's statement, an icy-blue plasma projectile shot out from the muzzle of Aili's rifle and accelerated towards the other end of the range. Moments later, the bolt struck the targeting dummy, impaling it through the dead center of its chest. Aili stood up and gave Steven a smug smile, waiting patiently for his reaction.

Steven looked dumbfounded as he continued to stare at the smoldering remains of Aili's target dummy. "Blast it!" he exclaimed, "All those extra hours of practice gone to waste in a single shot!"

"Game over." Jamie declared, "Aili wins…again. Final score: Steven with six points, Aili with ten."

Aili nodded approvingly, "Nice. You almost beat me that time."

"Hardly." Steven replied, activating the safety lock on his rifle and placing it in the nearby weapons locker.

"Whew!" Jamie said after Aili had returned the other rifle to the locker, "All that excitement's made me hungry for some good old military mess hall food. Wanna grab some lunch?"

Steven checked his watch, "I've still got a half-hour of break time, so sure."

"Fine by me." Aili agreed.

"Great!" Jamie stated with a grin, "Steven's buying."

Steven's mouth dropped open in fake astonishment, "Hey! Wait a second!" he protested, "Last I checked, mess hall food didn't cost anything."

"It does now, buddy boy." Jamie replied as she headed for the door, "Don't worry, we might pay you back later."

Aili began to laugh and Steven gave an exasperated sigh. "What did I do to deserve this?" he asked himself as they strode out of the firing range and into the bustling corridors of the space station.

They were just over halfway to the mess hall when the deck lights suddenly began to strobe red and a siren wailed. "A Time Crystal has been located. Repeat: A Time Crystal has been located." A male voice boomed over the intercom, "Alpha Team: report to the command deck immediately."

"That's us." Steven said, "Let's go."

Both he and Jamie raced down the corridor towards the turbolifts. Aili followed a few moments later. Even though she wasn't officially part of Alpha Team, she had a feeling that that problem wouldn't be an issue right now.


	2. Chapter 2

**CHAPTER TWO**

General Michael Nadeen, commanding officer of the space station _Serenity_, gazed intently at the endless stream of computer data that scrolled rapidly down one of the bridge officer's computer screens. He, unfortunately, had absolutely no idea what they meant, but it helped keep the crew's confidence level stable if their leader looked like he knew what he was doing. There was a hissing noise as a turbolift door opened and Michael turned away from the mathematical equations, casting his hazel-eyed gaze on the three individuals that trotted up to him. "Alpha Team reporting as ordered, sir." The brown haired, five-foot-eleven man named Major Steven O'Niel said as he and his blonde haired companion fired off a well-practiced salute.

"As you were." Michael replied, returning the gesture, "A few minutes ago, one of our nomad Time Drones picked up faint energy readings matching that of a Time Crystal."

"Do we know what time period, sir?" the blonde soldier, one of the promising new recruits that Michael had transferred from the Federation's best military academy, asked.

Michael nodded, "We certainly do, Private Banes. The Drone was able to triangulate the readings to seventeenth-century France before the Crystal's signal mysteriously disappeared."

A troubled and confused look rippled through the people standing before him. "Could the TimeSplitters be shielding the Crystal from us?" the third individual, a woman by the name of Aili Jordan who was one of the new additions to _Serenity_'s growing population, questioned.

"Not likely." Michael answered, shaking his head, "However, we can't afford to rule out that possibility, so you'll be going in guns hot and gloves off. You're primary objective will be to retrieve the Time Crystal by any means you see fit, and please try not to get yourselves shot. It's way too much paperwork."

The joke thankfully brought out a smile among the members of Alpha Team. "Understood, sir." Steven said.

"Good." Michael stated, "The T.P.T.'s still receiving repairs since your last mission, so you won't have as much backup. You leave in one hour. Dismissed."

Steven and Jamie snapped off one more salute before returning to the turbolift. Aili was about to turn to follow them when Michael said, "Aili, got a minute?"

"Sure." She said uncertainly.

"You're still half way through your evaluation course. But since your services will more than likely be required on a high-priority mission like this, the B.A.T.'s giving you a bit of leisure. You're a member of Alpha Team, but for this mission and this mission only." The general explained, "Do you understand?"

Aili nodded, a spark of gratitude in her eyes, "Yes, general. I'll do my best."

"That's what we're all trying to do nowadays." Michael replied, "You may go."

"Thank you, sir." She said, then turned and joined her companions in the lift, the doors hissing shut as soon as she entered.

With a tired sigh, Michael returned to the demanding job of commanding a space station. I'm getting too old for this, he thought. Pushing that issue aside, he began preparing for the next task ahead. "Lieutenant," he said, "prepare the calculations for the Time Jump."

"Aye, sir."


	3. Chapter 3

**CHAPTER THREE**

"Thank the galaxies we won't have to use seventeenth-century muskets." Jamie commented as she and the other two members of Alpha Team suited up in _Serenity_'s primary armory, "What were they thinking when they invented those things? A bow and arrow would have been better."

"Those were pretty weird times, Jamie." Steven replied, the fastener clips on his Marc IV body armor snapping into place, "For all we know, they could've made muskets just for the fun of it, or maybe 'cause they liked the smell of gunpowder."

Jamie paused midway through sliding a fresh clip into her favorite laser TC-2 laser pistol and looked at Steven with one eyebrow raised. "The smell of gunpowder?" she echoed quizzically, "That's got to be the third weirdest thing you've said since I was transferred over here."

"You're keeping track?" Steven asked with a grin.

"Someone's got to." Jamie answered with a shrug, "I could write a book listing all your sayings that would give the old Guinness Book of World Records a run for its money. And don't even get me started on the amount of times you've said 'I've got a bad feeling about this.'"

"Plus the several times where we had to improvise because one of your 'brilliant' ideas didn't go as planned." Aili put in.

"Sheesh!" Steven exclaimed, "Is it me, or did you two wake up on the wrong side of the bed today?"

Aili laughed, "It's just you. We're like this all the time. You're just finally noticing."

The laughter died a few seconds later as the mood turned serious and they focused on the mission ahead. "Once we get through the Portal," Steven said while he screwed on a silencer attachment onto his heavy ten-millimeter handgun, "we'll have to move fast so we can get in and out before the TimeSplitters show up, so light-caliber weapons only. Don't want to fight off entire hordes of them like our last little jaunt through time."

"How could I forget?" Jamie said as she spun the combination to a black locker near the back of the armory. The lock clicked and the door swung open, revealing an elegant, five-foot-long sword. The sword's crosspiece was laden with gold-colored veins and small green gemstones. Its blade sported a slight curve and was sharpened to such an extent that it could slice through diamond with ease. The weapon had been an heirloom in Jamie's family for many generations, and had been a gift from her father after her graduation from the academy. She smiled with pride as she reverently removed the sword from its casing and slid it into a red leather sheath.

"Alright." Steven said as he checked his watch, "Bus leaves in T-minus ten minutes. If you guys forgot anything, get it now because we're definitely _not _coming back for it."

Jamie slung her sword across her back and checked her pockets. "I think I've got everything," she confirmed, " but I may have left the kitchen sink back in my quarters."

Steven smirked, "Right. We ready?"

Aili and Jamie nodded and Steven led the way towards the Time Portal departure room.

General Nadeen was waiting for them as Steven, Jamie, and Aili strode through the thick doorway and into the Portal room. "You guys remind me of mid-twenty-first-century black ops soldiers." Nadeen observed, "How's the new armor feel?"

"A little tight in the armpit seams, sir. Other than that, it's pretty comfortable." Steven replied.

Nadeen laughed, "I'll take note of that. The final preparations for the Portal are almost complete. Should take no more than a few seconds."

"Time Portal coordinates locked, sir." An ensign reported not five seconds later from the control room behind them.

"Activate distortion locks." Nadeen ordered.

Distortion locks activated." Came the reply.

_This is it_, Jamie thought as she took a deep breath.

"Energize Time Portal."

"Time Portal energizing."

The ghostly-green colored ring suspended about two feet above he floor before them suddenly sprung to life as it woke from its sadly brief rest. Sparks and bolts of pure energy jumped from the ring's center towards its outer edge, filling the air with the smell of ozone. Moments later, an aurora of dark purple and black colors boiled outwards until it completely occupied the vertical ring's circular opening. "Time Portal has been established." The ensign said.

"Thank you, ensign." Nadeen responded. He then turned to the members of his frontline unit, "Alpha Team, you have a go."

Steven nodded and saluted, "Yes, sir. Let's move out!"

With that, the soldiers jogged towards the Portal's event horizon and vanished as they passed through. Nadeen gazed at where Alpha Team had just been and muttered silently to himself, "Godspeed."

Deep within the darkest catacombs beneath the great cathedral of Notre Dame, a hooded man stood silently before a stone pedestal. In his hands he held an object carefully wrapped in a brown leather cloth. "Oh Angels of Time," he said, his hawk-like nose becoming more visible as he spoke, "hear my call! For many years, I have dedicated myself to the better understanding of your ways, and have come ever so closer to achieving the next phase of existence that you provide. As a symbol of my undying loyalty, I present to you this gift." Unraveling the leather cloth with the kind of delicacy one would use when handling a sacred relic, the man emerged with a glowing green crystal and reverently placed it on the pedestal, "I shall now and forevermore be your servant."

With a final bow towards the pedestal, the hooded man walked out of the chamber, leaving the crystal's eerie glow in his wake.


	4. Chapter 4

**CHAPTER FOUR**

"AAHH!" Steven cried as he was flung headfirst out of the Time Portal's vortex and onto the hard cobblestone ground beyond. Every muscle in his body screamed with pain when he tried to move, but he eventually forced himself to a rough sitting position. "You guys okay?" he asked the two other prone forms that were unceremoniously dumped onto the dirt.

"Aside from feeling like I've been run over by a speeding supply truck, I'm just peachy. Thanks for asking." Jamie groaned, attempting to slowly return to her feet.

Steven winced as he stood up and proceeded to help his teammates regain their composure. "What was that?" Aili wondered.

"Vortex must have become unstable all of a sudden." Jamie guessed, "I thought we compensated for that problem days ago."

"We did." Steven said, gazing at the empty patch of air where the Time Portal's event horizon once was with a frown, "You'd need an enormous power supply to disrupt a Portal, which I don't think the people of this time period had at their disposal."

A small, rectangular device on Jamie's left hip beeped insistently. She unhooked it from her belt and studied the screen. "The detector's picking up the Crystal's signal. Just a few clicks north." She nodded her head in the indicated direction.

"Alright." Steven said as he began to lay out their plan of action, "I'll take point. Jamie, you cover our six. Stick to the shadows and don't let anyone see you no matter what. No shots until I give the order, got it?"

"Got it." Aili confirmed. Jamie nodded her understanding.

Steven took out his pistol and loaded a round into the chamber, "Let's go."

Quickly yet carefully, the three-person squad made their way through the dark and lonely streets, following the directions of Jamie's device. "Where is everyone?" Aili whispered, "I thought that this city was a thriving metropolis."

"Maybe they took the night off." Jamie suggested with a shrug.

"Don't think they take nights off." Steven said, "I'm getting a very bad feeling about this."

Jamie rolled her eyes, "Chalk one more up for that list."

A few more minutes of brisk walking brought them to the towering black walls of an ancient cathedral. Its four massive spires soared high into the sky, puncturing the thick layer of fog that had blanketed the city. "Notre Dame." Jamie breathed in amazement, craning her neck to see the foreboding structure of the cathedral, "Gives me the creeps just looking at it."

Steven was lost in his own amazement as he gazed at the ancient structure, "I've seen pictures of this thing in the Federation archives, but I'd never thought it was _this_ big."

Aili rolled her eyes, seemingly not as impressed by the massive structure, "Come on guys, snap out of it. This isn't really a sightseeing tour, you know."

"Oh, right." Jamie said, shaking her head as if breaking some kind of trance. She peered at the detector once again, pressing a few buttons here and there. "Looks like the signal's coming from underneath the church."

Steven frowned, "I'm highly doubting that they're just gonna let us waltz right through the main doorway, and simply blowing a hole in the walls will attract too much attention. We'll have to find another way in." he panned his eyes over the streets ahead until a small stone hole that resembled a downsized well caught his eye. "That hole there should lead to the tunnels beneath the city." He told them as he pointed out the wells location, "You'd better you oxygen masks on, though. Something tells me that it's bound to get messy."

Jamie's face paled, "Oh, please." She pleaded, "Anything but the sewer!"


	5. Chapter 5

**CHAPTER FIVE**

The dry, brittle clay crunched underneath Aili's boots as she landed in the pitch black of the underground tunnel system. She switched her flashlight on and examined the surrounding area just as Steven and Jamie propelled down the rope. "Clear." She whispered.

"Clear here, too." Steven confirmed.

There was another soft crunch as Jamie reached the floor. "Am I the only one here who's totally grossed out by all this?" she asked, her voice slightly muffled by her breathing mask.

"This is nothing compared to the jungles of Regal." Steven reassured her, "Some of the stuff there are one hundred percent certain to make you lose your breakfast, lunch, _and_ dinner."

Aili suddenly held up a hand, "Shh!"

"What is it?" Steven questioned.

"I though I heard something."

They stood in silence for a few moments, listening for whatever it was that Aili had heard. "There it is again." Aili said.

Steven couldn't hear anything out of the ordinary at first, but after awhile, he began to pick up a faint echo of blood-chilling wails. The cries seemed to come from all around them, floating as if carried by the damp breeze that blew through the catacombs. "Okay, there's something that you don't see every day." Jamie commented.

Steven felt a shiver run down his spine, and he doubted that the dropping temperature caused it. "Let's keep moving." He said, "Ghosts or no ghosts, we've still got a Crystal to find."

With Steven leading the way, the three of them continued through the dark passageways, relying on Jamie's detector to traverse the labyrinth of catacombs. They were about to make a left hand turn when Steven's foot met nothing but air and began to plunge downwards. He cried out in surprise and immediately retracted his foot, feeling the grips on Jamie and Aili pulling him back from the edge. "Thanks." He said breathlessly after a few moments of recovering from the near-fatal incident."

"No problem." Aili answered. She gazed at the pit that took up a majority of the passageway ahead of them, "How far do you think this thing goes?"

"Hopefully not too far." Steven stated, "What I wouldn't give for an energy bridge generator."

"Or a few good wooden planks like we had last time." Jamie put in.

Steven chuckled, "That too."

"So where to now, oh fearless leader?" Aili asked.

Before Steven could answer, a piercing screech ripped through the darkness, forcing the three of them to cover their ears. Suddenly, a shadowy form that seemed to materialize out of thin air leapt at Jamie, knocking her to the ground hard. Steven reacted immediately, scrambling to take aim at the attacker as Jamie struggled to regain the air that was lost from her lungs when she slammed into the dirt. The shadow spun around and sprinted towards Jamie's fallen body, going for the final kill. There was a muffled puff and the shadow collapsed in a lifeless heap.

While Aili made sure that there weren't any other attackers lurking in the blackness around them, Steven rushed to where Jamie was attempting to stand back up. "You okay?" he asked.

Jamie nodded and coughed several more times, "Yeah, just a little winded right now."

"You sure?" Steven questioned with a concerned look, "That thing hit you pretty hard."

"I'm fine." Jamie answered, "Really, I am." She regained her feet and took a deep breath of the stale air, "Thanks for saving me, by the way…again." She added with a small grin.

Steven smiled back, "Don't mention it. You keep me out of trouble all the time, it's only fair that I return the favor."

Jamie laughed slightly and glanced at the lifeless corpse of her attacker. "What genetically mutated sewer monster do you think it is?" she wondered.

"Let's find out." Steven said. He cast his pistol-mounted flashlight onto the shadow's prone form. Its body was roughly human shaped, and a thick hood protruded from the brown robes it wore, concealing its other features. Steven turned the creature onto its back, revealing a face that made both Jamie and Aili gasp in astonishment and horror.

The face was that of a human skull, picked clean of all remaining skin, its empty eyes sockets staring blankly up at the ceiling. Steven examined the skeleton's clothing curiously. "Looks like this guy used to be a monk or something." He guessed.

"I'm no believer in supernatural stuff of anything, but I really don't think that guy climbed out of his coffin on his own." Jamie said, clearly not fully prepared for this change of events.

"Right." Steven said, flicking off his flashlight and stepping away from the skeleton monk, "Someone around here's got a thing for reawakening dead people, who knows what else the guy's capable of. We've got to get that Crystal and get out of here before whoever it is decides to empty out all of France's morgues. Let's go."

With that, the three of them continued their trek through the maze of passageways, this time at a much faster pace.


	6. Chapter 6

**CHAPTER SIX**

"Master." A gravely voice breathed, "Three intruders have infiltrated the lower levels and are headed for the main chamber."

Standing on a moonlit balcony overlooking the outside city, a hooded man frowned deeply. "They are more resilient then I imagined. Most people would have fled in fear by now." He muttered to himself as he rubbed his chin thoughtfully, "Nevertheless, they may prove useful. Find them and bring them to me…alive."

"Yes, master."

"Also," the man added, "They must not discover the machine. If they do, you shall be the first one to die."

There was a slight hesitation before the voice replied, "It will be done, master."

"How much further?" Steven questioned as he, Jamie, and Aili made their way through a partially flooded passageway.

Jamie glanced at her detector, careful not to let it touch the occasionally knee-high water for fear of it short-circuiting. "Not much. The Crystal should be just a few meters ahead." She reported. The small device in her hand suddenly began to beep loudly and Jamie paused to study the detector's screen. "That's weird."

"What?" Steven asked.

"I'm picking up some interesting material readings near the Crystal's location." Jamie replied. She shook her head in confusion, "The computer's having difficulty recognizing it and I've got not clue what it could be."

Aili raised an eyebrow, "I don't think I like the sound of that."

"Nether do I." Steven agreed, "Let's pick up the pace."

The three of them increased their pace to a brisk jog, quickly covering the distance to the T-split passageway ahead. But when they rounded the corner, they stopped dead in their tracks. "Okay," Jamie said in a surprised voice, "Something tells me that this isn't the normal everyday décor."

Stretched out before them was a long, octagonal-shaped hallway, lit only be the dim glow of green-colored torches. However, it wasn't made of the familiar earthen construction like the others, but of a highly polished metal that reflected any light cast against it. "What in the blazes is this?" Aili breathed in amazement.

Steven reached forward and rapped his knuckles against the wall material. "If I had to make a wild guess as to what this stuff is, I'd say that it's some sort of ditirium plating."

"And that is…" Aili pressed, not really understanding the significance.

"It's the same kind of stuff that's commonly used on both TimeSplitter warships and containment facilities." Jamie answered, "They must have taken a few ores with them when they escaped through the Portal."

"Looks like the Splitters got here before us," Steven observed, "and were planning to stay for quite awhile." He gestured towards the metallic doorway at the opposite end of the hall, "Any idea what's behind there?"

Jamie shook her head, "Not really. I can still detect the Crystal's signal, but not much else."

"I guess we'll have to do this the old fashioned way." Steven said, "Let's open up this box and see what Santa's brought us."

"And hope it's not a nuke." Jamie added with a grin.

It took awhile to traverse the length of the hallway, and once they reached the door, Steven got to work on examining the door's control panel. "Well, it's an older lock." He said, "Shouldn't take too long to open up."

Moments later, the door slowly slid to the side and they cautiously stepped through. The chamber beyond was barren and lifeless, save for the rows of human skeletons strapped to the walls and a stone pedestal planted in the center of the room. "There it is." Steven stated glancing towards where the Crystal sat atop the pedestal's column, "Let's grab it and go. I'm starting to get a bad feeling about this place."

Aili nodded and stepped towards the Crystal, Class-Six containment case in hand. Slowly by surely, she reached out and delicately lifted the glowing gem from its perch, then lowering it into the specially-designed cutout in the case's black Styrofoam. Not long after Aili had finished packing the Crystal away, the entire room began to tremble slightly, but ceased a few seconds later. "Last time I checked, France didn't get any earthquakes." Jamie muttered, peering warily at the walls around them.

"What'd you touch?" Steven asked Aili.

Aili raised her gloved hands innocently, "Nothing! It's possible the TimeSplitters rigged the pedestal in away that we couldn't detect, so whatever happens next, it's not my fault."

"Quiet." Jamie hissed, "Do you hear that?"

In the ensuing silence, Steven could hear a faint hissing noise coming from somewhere in the darkness. He activated his flashlight and cast it in the direction of the sound, revealing a small open compartment near the rear wall, a cloud of green smoke pouring out of its mouth. Steven's eyes grew wide as he recognized what the substance was. "Gas!" he cried, "Get out now!"

They spun around and began to run out of the room when the entrance door slammed shut. "Great," Jamie said, "I hate it when we walk into a trap."

"The gas masks are no good." Steven stated, ripping off his mask, "We've got to get out of here. Aili, fire up the blow torch." He waited for a reply, but none came, "Aili?"

Steven pointed his flashlight next to him and found her collapsed on the ground, unmoving. "Aili!" Jamie exclaimed as she hurriedly knelt beside her friend.

"She alright?"

Jamie nodded, "She's unconscious, should be okay if…" she was cut off as she too lost conscience and fell to the floor.

The effects of the gas began to take hold on Steven not long afterwards. He fought to stay awake as he grabbed the blowtorch from Aili's pack and flicked it on, it's light hampered by the density of the gas surrounding him. Coughing up a storm, he began to cut through the door, but hesitated as his vision began to blur making it near impossible to see what he was doing. Moments afterwards, the darkness closed in and his world went black.


	7. Chapter 7

**CHAPTER SEVEN**

"Steven." A familiar voice called distantly, "Steven? Wake up Steven."

Slowly, the darkness that swam through Steven's vision faded and morphed into the concerned faces of Jamie and Aili. "Ow!" he moaned, holding his head in an effort to relieve his splitting headache, "Anyone got an aspirin? My head feels like it's about to explode."

Jamie shrugged apologetically, "Sorry. The medkit that had them in it isn't really available right now."

"Why? Where are we?" Steven questioned as he tried to achieve a rough sitting position. Squinting through half-open eyes, he could barely make out the heavy iron crossbeams of an ancient prison cell encompassing a fifteen-by-fifteen foot area around them. "Must've triggered some sort of trap when we took that Crystal." Steven guessed.

"Hey, look at it this way," Jamie said with a smirk, "At least it was just gas, not a giant boulder."

Steven shook his head in amusement, "Jamie, you've got to take a break from watching those antique movies of yours. You're gonna wear them out."

"Hey!" Jamie exclaimed, "Those things are classics. They're meant to be enjoyed, not gather dust in a closet someplace."

The throbbing pain in Steven's skull finally began to fade away and he managed to stand up and brush off the thick globs of mud that had accumulated on his flak pants from lying on the filthy ground. "Right, breakout time. Anyone have any suggestions on how to get out of this mudhole?"

Aili thought for a moment, "We can file our way out."

Steven shook his head, "Might work if we actually had a file with us, and trying to break the stone wall down wouldn't be an option 'cause their pretty much rock solid."

"If these are half-pin barrel hinges, we can break them open with the proper application of leverage and strength." Jamie suggested with a grin.

Steven raised his eyebrow at her, "_Pirates of the Caribbean_?" he inquired.

Jamie snapped her fingers in mock frustration, "Dang! You figured that one out. I must be slipping."

Suddenly, three sets of footsteps were heard echoing in the hallway outside their cell and Steven gestured for the others to be quiet with a quick horizontal slash of his hand. A few seconds later, a man with a dark brown monk's robe glided through the heavy metal door and into the holding cell room, flanked by two of the "Priest Zombies" that Steven and his team had encountered earlier. A deep hood concealed much of the man's face and he walked slowly, almost as if he was being directed by some unknown entity. The monk stopped before the team's cell and raised his head, studying them with unseen eyes. "Hi," Steven said to the monk, "How's it going? Listen; if this whole 'imprisonment' thing is about us trespassing on your property, we're _extremely_ sorry. If you let us go, we'll promise never to come back for as long as we live…or you live."

"Silence!" the monk barked, his voice reminding Steven of a creaky old door, "You will speak only when spoken to. Now, what do you call yourselves?"

"Well, I'm Larry, and this is Curly and Moe." Steven answered with an innocent smile, gesturing to Jamie and Aili in turn, "Best sidekicks you could ask for."

The monk stayed silent for a few moments, and then asked, "How did you manage to gain entrance to this place?"

"Back door was open. We just decided to let ourselves in, see if anyone was home."

"Your boldness is impressive." The monk said to Steven, a chilling and humorless smile creeping onto his withered face, "That, however, will not save you from you imminent demise."

Jamie cast a glance towards Aili, "I don't think I like the sound of that."

"You have trespassed on holy ground," the monk continued, the air within the cell suddenly growing cold, "and for that, the punishment is death." He turned to his two henchmen, "They are of no use to me. Kill them…slowly."

With that, the monk slunk out of the room, leaving his prisoners to the mercy of the resurrected clergymen. The two zombies chuckled darkly, drawing wicked-looking knives from their belts and moving towards the door to the cell. "Looks like we're doing this the hard way." Steven said as he eyed their opponents, "I've got the left. You two get the right."

Jamie and Aili nodded, "Got it."

Steven waited until both priests were inside the cell before he sprung into action, throwing a hard right punch towards the zombie's jawbone. The creature yowled in pain and spun around as a result of the impact, allowing Steven to grab its head from behind. After a bit of effort, the zombie's neck bones broke with a dry snap and it's body fell headless to the ground. Steven tossed away the skull and cast a glance towards where Jamie and Aili had similarly dealt with the second guard. "I hope their friends didn't hear that," Aili remarked.

Steven relieved the priest zombie of its knife and pistol and slid it into his belt, "Same here. Jamie, do you think you can still find out where Rip Van Winkle is keeping the Crystal without the detector?"

"Sure can, boss." Jamie replied, "That energy signature that I detected earlier seemed to be coming from the top levels of the church. If the Time Crystal's going to be anywhere in this place, that's where it'd be."

"Sounds like a good place to start." Steven said, "Lead the way."

Jamie grinned, "With pleasure."

With that, the three of them ran out of their holding cell and through the dark hallways of Notre Dame towards the Time Crystal and their only ticket out of this Gothic horror show.


	8. Chapter 8

**CHAPTER EIGHT**

A bright flash of lightning temporarily lit up the spiral stone staircase as Steven and his team sprinted up towards the top sections of the massive cathedral. More than once, they were forced to duck into a side room to avoid being discovered by the monk's minions that were patrolling the halls. "I don't know about you guys," Aili said in a low voice from behind her two friends, "but I'm getting a sense that there's something big going on around here, and I don't think it's the usual church event."

"Yeah." Steven agreed, "I'm willing to bet that the Time Crystal's a part of it. Did you notice how white and deteriorated that monk's face was? Definitely symptoms of overexposure to the Crystal's energy."

"How long do you think he's been exposed to it?" Aili asked as they made a hard right turn down an identical corridor.

Steven shrugged slightly, "No way to tell for sure. Considering that it only takes two hours of exposure to that radiation to be infected by it, I'm surprised that he's still alive and kicking."

"Guys." Jamie whispered suddenly, " If my memory's right, the Crystal should be through that door up ahead."

"Alright." Steven said, "Jamie, as soon as we get in there, I want you to secure the Crystal. Aili and I will cover you. Got it?" the other two gave small nods, "Good. Let's roll."

With a single, forceful kick, the double doors snapped open and the three of them burst inside, only to be met by a sight that made them gape in awe. A huge, cavernous room stretched out before them at a length of roughly a hundred yards. Elegant stained glass windows lined the towering walls, occasionally letting in some of the light from the lightning flashes outside. This marvel of architecture wasn't the only thing that caught the team's eye, though.

Standing near the center of the room was a massive, block-shaped device with hundreds of tiny cords plugged into the numerous outlets that littered its sides. It was completely covered in some sort of organic webbing that dripped with an unknown substance. Steven, Jamie, and Aili cautiously approached the device, pistols raised. Steven poked the fleshy netting a couple of times before saying, "Yep. Definitely TimeSplitter. Looks like an overgrown version of a Portal generator."

"Oh, that is just revolting." Jamie muttered, her face scrunching up in an expression of disgust.

"If you want revolting, check this out." Aili said from the other side of the generator.

Steven and Jamie moved to join her and saw what could only be described as horrific. Hundreds of withered remains of human bodies lay carelessly piled on top of each other, their faces frozen in a look of severe pain and terror. Steven glanced at Jamie, who looked like she was about to hurl. "Well," he said grimly, "looks like we found out what happened to all the townspeople."

"What happened to them?" Jamie asked quietly as she continued to stare at the pile of bodies.

"If I had to venture a guess, I'd say that their life force was drained from them." Aili replied, "I've seen this many times back home."

"The thing that I'm trying to figure out is why." Steven said as he knelt closer to one of the husks, "Why would the TimeSplitters need human energy when all the energy that they could ever need is in the Crystal?"

"Those are all very good questions, my friends." Said a familiar, creaky voice from behind them, "Very good questions."

The team spun around and were greeted by the brown robes and white face of the monk. The hooded figure slowly glided towards them, seeming as if he was suspended from unseen cables like a marionette. Aili and Steven pointed their weapons towards the monk's chest, ready should the man make any aggressive moves. "Time to drop the monk act. Who are you…really?" Steven demanded.

The monk stopped about ten yards away, his arms folded slightly across his chest. "I am The Medium, tasked by the Angels of Time themselves to assist and to carry out their plans for the future of the human race." He answered.

" 'Angels of Time'?" Jamie repeated, her left eyebrow raised, "TimeSplitters?"

Aili nodded, "More than likely."

"Sorry to rain on your parade here, but these 'Angels' aren't angels at all." Steven told The Medium, "They're part of an evil alien race that's bent on enslaving all of humanity. In other words, you're being used and you don't even know it."

The Medium spat, "Blasphemy!"

Steven shrugged, "It's true."

"The Angels of Time shall not tolerate your slanderous ways." The Medium sneered, "Confess now, or you shall be rightfully dealt with."

"Ain't gonna happen." Steven said. He then aimed and fired a round at the monk's chest. Seconds later, the bullet impacted an invisible shield not three feet from The Medium's robes and was deflected away. Before Steven could recover from his surprise and line up another shot, the pistol flew out of his hands and he was thrown hard into the nearby wall, knocking all the air out of his lungs. He had barely managed to shake the stars out of his eyes when he felt a hand close around his throat and start of lift him up. Steven gagged and clawed at his neck, finding nothing there but air.

"Steven!" Jamie cried.

"As you can see," The Medium said, his right arm outstretched towards Steven, using some kind of energy to maintain his grip, "the Angels of Time have blessed me with their power. Repent now, or I shall kill your leader!"

Throughout all the commotion, am mysterious presence had been steadily growing in Aili's mind, one that seemed familiar yet completely new to her. She tried to fight it, like she had so many times before, but the entity was too strong and quickly enveloped her active mind. Aili felt her body jerk as the entity gained control of her body, her eyes turning from brown to solid gray in color. She heard Jamie's distant voice, but could not reply for her body was no longer her own. _Stay calm_, a voice said calmly, _this should not take long_. With little more choice in the matter, Aili obeyed and relaxed, watching as the entity controlled her body.

Jamie watched in shock as her friend's eyes changed color and her budy began to jerk like she had been caught in an electric field. A few moments later, the seizure stopped and Aili stood still, staring intensely at The Medium. "Aili?" Jamie asked, wondering what had just happened to the other woman. Suddenly, Aili began to walk towards the monk.

"Ha!" The Medium cackled at Aili, "You dare challenge the might of the Angels? I shall show you the meaning of true pain!" Purple energy shot out of his left hand and arced towards Aili. With a simple wave of her hand, Aili caught the energy and it harmlessly dissipated into the air. Then, The Medium suddenly rocketed backwards, eventually smashing into a stone column and shattering his spine. The monk's hold on Steven instantly vanished and he tumbled to the floor gasping for air. Jamie immediately rushed to Steven's side and he waved her off, indicating that he was fine.

With its work apparently complete, the entity withdrew into the depths of Aili's mind, disappearing just as quickly as it had appeared. She staggered a bit as her own conscience regained control over her body, and was met with a splitting headache that she knew would last for weeks. She was vaguely aware of Steven and Jamie trotting up behind her and felt Jamie's hand on her shoulder.

Steven slowly approached The Medium's crippled form lying on the ground. "Any last words?" he asked with a glare that looked as if it could melt stone.

"You…have not…won." The Medium answered with effort, a stream of blood trickling out of his mouth, "The Angels…will…soon know of…what you…have done. Their vengeance…shall be swift… and your world will burn…in the fires of…everlasting…torment!"

"Not today, sunshine," Steven said as he raised his gun, "not today." He then squeezed the trigger and put a bullet in the monk's head. Glancing over at Aili, he gave her a very concerned look, "You okay?"

Aili shook her head, "No, I really don't think I am."

"We'll have the doctors take a look at you once we get back." Steven told her reassuringly, "Can you walk on your own?"

"Yeah."

"Good. Jamie, grab the Crystal from that device so we can blow out of here."

"Right." Jamie replied. She jogged over to the alien object and, after a bit of searching, found and opened the compartment containing the Time Crystal, immediately wrapping the green artifact in some rags and cradling it in her arms.

After dialing up their Portal code using his combat wristwatch, Steven activated the comlink that they had obtained from one of the zombie guards with a touch of his finger. "Command, this is Alpha One." He said into the receiver, "Alpha Team has obtained the Crystal. Ready and waiting for extraction, over."

"Rodger that, Alpha One." Came the reply, "Accepting code and energizing Portal, over."

Within seconds, the event horizon of the Time Portal blossomed into view just in front of the team. They then stepped through it, leaving the gothic scenery of nineteenth-century France behind them.


	9. Chapter 9

**CHAPTER NINE**

"Firstly, I'd like to congratulate you on your recovery of the Time Crystal." General Nadeen said as he leaned back in his leather office chair, "You've certainly made those hard-noses at the B.A.T. much happier."

Steven and Jamie stood at the opposite end of the General's square-shaped office not far from _Serenity_'s main bridge, their hands clasped behind their backs in a rest position. "Thank you, sir." Steven said.

"Now, I understand that during the mission, you discovered a TimeSplitter device. Any ideas as to what it was and what their intentions for it were?" Nadeen inquired.

"Our first thoughts were that it was a crude Portal generator," Jamie replied, casting a casual glance at Steven, "but it seemed far too big for just that. I think that he TimeSplitters were experimenting with the Crystal's power output, using the human energy from the townspeople to boost the total yield. Such an upgrade could possibly be capable of increasing a Portal's capacity."

Nadeen's face took on a troubled frown, "Enough to be able to transport one of their warships?"

"Theoretically, yes." Jamie confirmed.

Sounds like the Medium's doomsday prophecy had some truth in it after all." Steven stated.

"Indeed." Nadeen said, "Our scientists are working on using the Time Portal's energy to reverse the damage that the TimeSplitter had done to that area of France, but there's still a chance that its friends managed to obtain the research necessary to continue the experiments. Based on the Medium's warning, it sounds as if the TimeSplitters are planning and attack that would hammer the final nail in to humanity's coffin. We must ensure that will never see the light of day. As for you two," he gestured to them, "I believe that you've earned yourselves some downtime until the B.A.T. needs your services again. Dismissed."

Steven and Jamie came to attention and snapped off a salute before exiting the General's office and into the busy hallways of the space station. "So, what now?" Jamie asked.

"We should probably head down to the infirmary and check on Aili. The medics should have finished all the tests that they needed by now." Steven replied as they entered a turbolift and the door hissed shut.

Jamie frowned, "I hope there's nothing seriously wrong with her."

Steven shrugged, "I'm sure she'll be fine."

"How can you stay so optimistic about stuff like this?" Jamie wondered.

The lift halted with a dull jerk and the doors slid open. "If there's one thing I've learned about command all these years, it's that if you don't maintain a positive outlook on life, you're guaranteed to give yourself an ulcer. I've had one once…not fun at all."

Jamie grinned, "I'll try and remember that."

The two of them made their way down the corridor and eventually stepped through the main entrance of _Serenity_'s infirmary. A brown-haired man dressed in a white doctor's uniform immediately met them. "Doctor." Steven greeted the man. He then nodded towards the medical bed where Aili rested, "How's she doing?"

The doctor eyed his sleeping patient with concern; "She's stable…for now. However, there's something that I believe you should be made aware of." He motioned towards a 3D holographic scan of Aili's brain, "During our initial tests, we found a sizable anomaly in the rear portion of her brain. We weren't able to detect it during her first health evaluation because it was too small, which means that it's more that doubled in size over the past few weeks."

Jamie gazed at the highlighted section of the hologram, "Is it still growing?"

The doctor shook his head, "Hasn't moved a millimeter since she returned from the mission."

"Is it dangerous?" Steven questioned.

"No." the doctor replied, "It seems to be completely harmless for the time being. I'll have to keep her here for awhile, just to be sure."

"Alright." Steven said, "Is she well enough for visitors yet?"

"Oh, yes. Give me a call if you need anything." The doctor said, then strode away and continued on with his business.

As Steven and Jamie approached her bed, Aili's eyes slowly opened and she smiled when she saw her friends. "Hey," Steven said, "look who finally decided to wake up. I told the nurses not to use so much anesthesia, but apparently they didn't listen to me."

Aili laughed quietly, "Nice to see you too, Steven."

"How are you feeling?" Jamie asked, taking a seat on the chair next to the bed.

Aili rubbed her forehead with her hand and grimaced. "Well, aside from the splitting headache, not too bad." She answered, "What happened? The last thing I remember is when the Medium was threatening to kill you, everything else after that is all foggy."

"That's what the doctors are trying to find out." Steven said, "The only bad part is that you'll have to stay here for a bit so they can prod you with more needles. Think you can handle it without giving someone a black eye?"

"I'll do my best." Aili promised.

"Good." Steven stated with a friendly pat on Aili's shoulder. He glanced at his wristwatch and his eyes grew wide, "Wow, it's late! Totally missed my lunch not to mention my dinner. Hey Jamie, want to head over to the mess hall? I heard they're serving _real_ food tonight."

Jamie shrugged and smiled again, "Sure, but you're buying. You still owe me that."

"Deal." Steven replied, "Mind if we step out for a little bit, Aili?"

"No, not at all." Aili said, "Just be sure to save some of that food for me, alright?"

"Can do." Jamie said as she and Steven walked out of the infirmary, "See you later!"

Aili looked after her comrades for a few more seconds before laying her head back and slid into a deep sleep, her dreams filled with vivid images of her long-lost childhood.

In the vast emptiness of space outside the hulking mass of the space station, a small, cylindrical object zipped quietly along the outer hull. Its black-colored armor plating blended perfectly with the surrounding darkness and shielded it from any and all potential security fields. Once the object had reached its assigned waypoint, a tiny section of the armor slid open and a laser the size of a needle shot out. "Scan commencing." It said in a robotic voice. After a few moments, the object's laser grew in intensity. "Target located." It proclaimed, "Designation: Jamie Banes. Marking for future operations." With that, the laser vanished and the robotic probe slithered away into the eternal darkness.


End file.
